Garment with configurable shoulder sections

ABSTRACT

A garment with configurable shoulder sections is disclosed. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow the garment to be placed on a person&#39;s body without having to manipulate the person&#39;s arms through the sleeves.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/030,362, filed Sep. 23, 2020, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/392,512, filed Apr. 23, 2019, nowabandoned, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to garments, and, more particularly togarments with configurable shoulder sections. The shoulder sections maygenerally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closedconfiguration.

BACKGROUND

Garments such as pull-over shirts may sometimes be difficult to placeonto a human body. The garments may first need to be pulled over one'shead, and then the person may need to manipulate his/her arms into andthrough the sleeves. If the sleeves are somewhat tight or otherwisepositioned close to the body of the garment, this may be uncomfortableand sometimes even harmful.

In one particular example, garments designed specifically for infants,while very important to keep the baby warm and safe, are often timesdifficult to place onto the baby's body without having to bend orotherwise manipulate the baby's head, shoulders and arms to fit withinthe collar and the sleeves of the garment. Knowing that a baby's bodymay be extremely fragile and delicate, this may cause discomfort to thebaby and sometimes even damage to their body.

For example, placing a shirt or a onesie onto a baby may require theshirt or onesie to first be pulled over the baby's head. The neck of ababy may be very delicate and fragile such that this action must be donewith great care to avoid hurting the baby. Then, when the garment isgenerally around the baby's neck, the baby's arms must be bent, twistedand manipulated to pull them through the sleeves of the garment. Thisaction may be very unpleasant for the baby and may even cause damage tothe baby's arms, joints and internal ligaments. It can also be seen thatthis same potentially harmful scenario may also be true for any type ofperson, not just an infant.

Accordingly, there is a need for a garment that may be placed onto aperson's body in such a way that avoids the need to bend, twist orotherwise manipulate the person's body.

It is desirable, and an object of this invention, to provide a garmentthat may be placed onto a person in a safe and comfortable way thateliminates the need to manipulate the person's body during the process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIGS. 1-3 show a garment with upper and lower flaps; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a baby placed into a garment with upper and lowerflaps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, unless used otherwise, the following term has thefollowing meaning:

A “mechanism” refers to any device(s), process(es), routine(s),service(s), or combination thereof. A mechanism may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, using a special-purpose device, or anycombination thereof. A mechanism may be integrated into a single deviceor it may be distributed over multiple devices. The various componentsof a mechanism may be co-located or distributed. The mechanism may beformed from other mechanisms. In general, as used herein, the term“mechanism” may thus be considered to be shorthand for the termdevice(s) and/or process(es) and/or service(s).

The following detailed description is not intended to limit the currentinvention. Alternate embodiments and variations of the subject matterdescribed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Garment 10 according to exemplary embodiments hereof is described withreference to FIGS. 1-5.

As depicted in FIG. 1, garment 10 may include an upper portion 100, alower portion 102, a body 104, an upper opening 106, a lower opening108, a top left shoulder portion 110, a top right shoulder portion 112,a front side 114 and a back side 116. Garment 10 may also include aninside area 117 that may be formed as the region between the front side114 and the back side 116. In addition, garment 10 may also include acollar 118 that may be formed as an upper portion of top opening 106.The upper left shoulder portion 110 and the upper right shoulder portion112 may also each include at least one upper flap 120 and at least onelower flap 122. That is, the upper left shoulder portion 110 may includeat least one upper flap 120 and at least one lower flap 122, and theupper right shoulder portion may also include at least one upper flap120 and at least one lower flap 122. It should be noted that in thisspecification, a single upper flap 120 and a single lower flap 122 oneach of the left and right sides of the garment 10 may be used as a mainexample. However, it should be noted that any number of upper and lowerflaps 120, 122 may be used on either the left or right shoulder portions110, 112 of the garment 10.

Note that the left and right upper tabs 120 may generally be mirrorimages of each other, and that the left and right lower tabs 122 maygenerally be mirror images of each other. However, it should be notedthat the left and right upper tabs 120 may not generally be mirrorimages of each other, and that the left and right lower tabs 122 may notgenerally be mirror images of each other, and that the tabs 120, 122 maybe formed of any type of different shapes and sizes.

Note that in the configuration depicted in FIG. 1, top flap 120 maygenerally be an upper extension of the back 116 of the garment 10. Theflap 120 may be formed of the same material as the back 116 section ofthe garment 10 such that the top flap 120 may simply extend up from theback 116 on the left and right upper sides. Alternatively, the top flaps120 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the back section 116on the upper left and right portions of the garment 10. In this way, itcan be seen that the top flaps 120 and the back portion of the collar118 may generally form the top of the back 116 of the garment 10. Otherconfigurations of top flaps 120 with respect to the back 116 of thegarment may also be used.

In addition, the lower flap 122 may generally be an upper extension ofthe front 114 of the garment 10. The flap 122 may be formed of the samematerial as the front 114 section of the garment 10 such that the lowerflap 122 may simply extend up from the front 114 on the left and rightupper sides. Alternatively, the lower flaps 122 may be sewn or otherwiseattached to the top of the front section 114 on the upper left and rightportions of the garment 10. In this way, it can be seen that the lowerflaps 122 and the front portion of the collar 118 may generally form thetop of the front 116 of the garment 10. Other configurations of thelower flaps 122 with respect to the front 114 of the garment may also beused.

The top opening 106 of the garment 10 may be generally formed as thein-between space between the top flaps 120 and the back portion of thecollar 118, and the lower flaps 122 and the front portion of the collar118. That is, the left and right top flaps 120 combined with the backportion of the collar 118 may generally define and form the back side ofthe opening 116, and the left and right lower flaps 122 combined withthe front portion of the collar 118 may generally define and form thefront side of the opening 116.

It should be pointed out that the upper shoulder portions of the garment10 may also be referred to as the yoke of the garment 10 and that inthis scenario, the yoke may include the top flaps 120 and the lowerflaps 122, individually or in combination (as will be described below).

In the example depicted in FIG. 1, top flap 120 may generally have twomain positions, an upper position T and a lower position L. Note that inFIG. 1, the right upper flap 120 is generally in an upper position T andthe left upper flat 120 is generally in a lower position L. In this way,the top left shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulder portion 112may be generally configured in at least an open configuration (e.g. whenupper flaps 120 are in the upper position T) and in a closedconfiguration (e.g. when upper flaps 120 are in the lower position L).

With top flap 120 generally in an upper position T, top flap 120 mayfold forward in the direction of arrow A to transition from an upperposition T to a lower position L. In addition, when generally in a lowerposition L, top flap 120 may fold upward in the direction of arrow B totransition from a lower position L to an upper position T.

It should be noted that when upper flap 120 may be placed in a generallylower position L, a portion of the upper flap 120 may come into physicalcontact with a portion of the lower flap 122. This is depicted in FIG. 1where the left upper flap 122 is in the lower position L and isgenerally laying over a portion of lower flap 122. In thisconfiguration, a portion of the inner surface 124 of upper flap 120 maygenerally overlay a portion of the outer surface 126 of lower flap 122.

With top flap 120 and lower flap 122 in physical contact as describeabove, the top flap 120 and the bottom flap 122 may generally beattached or joined to one another in the area of their physical contactusing one or more attachment mechanisms 127. In this way, the combinedupper flap 120 and lower flap 122 may generally form the upper shoulderportions 110, 112. The left upper flap 120 combined and joined with theleft lower flap 122 may generally form upper left shoulder portion 110,and the right upper flap 120 combined and joined with the right lowerflap 122 may generally form upper right shoulder portion 112.

The top flap 120 and the lower flap 122 combinations (left and right)may include attachment mechanisms 127 such as hook and loop material,snaps, buttons, ties, zippers, magnets or other types or combinations oftypes of attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used to attach and jointhe top flap 120 with the lower flap 122 for each combination. In thisway, the top flap 120 may be attached and joined to the lower flap 122when it is folded downward into its lower position L.

In one example as depicted in FIG. 1, the right top flap 120 and rightlower flap 122 may each include one or more attachment mechanisms 127that may include at least one hook and loop section. For example, topflap 122 may include a hook and loop section 128 and lower flap 122 mayinclude hook and loop section 130. It may be preferable that if hook andloop section 128 is hook material, that hook and loop section 130 beloop material so that the two sections 128, 130 may mate and generallyattach to one another. Also, it may be preferable that if hook and loopsection 128 is loop material, that hook and loop section 130 be hookmaterial so that the two sections 128, 130 may mate and generally attachand be joined to one another. It may also be preferable that with toptab 120 in the lower position L overlaying lower tab 122, that at leasta portion of hook and loop material section 128 may overlay at least aportion of hook and loop material section 130 so that the at leastoverlapping portions of sections 128 and 130 may attach and adhere toone another.

Note that in one preferable configuration, upper flap 120 may foldforward along an axis that may be generally represented by line C inFIG. 1. In addition, it may be preferable that the top edge of lowerflap 122 generally follow line C as well so that the upper flap 120 maygenerally fold forward and down across the top edge of flap 122. Notethat the top edge of lower flap 122 may be generally linear so that asupper flap 120 may fold across it, the fold in top flap 120 may also begenerally linear such that upper flap 120 may fold uniformly downwardover lower flap 122.

As shown in FIG. 1, hook and loop section 128 and hook and loop section130 may generally be positioned in locations that may be mirrored witheach other about line C. In this way, when upper flap 120 may foldforward along line C, its hook and loop section 128 may rotate downwardinto a position that may generally coincide with the position of hookand loop section 130 that may be configured with lower flap 122. This isdepicted as dashed lines in upper left shoulder section of 110 ofgarment 10 in FIG. 1. In this configuration, it may be preferable thatthe majority of top section 128 may overlap with the majority of lowersection 130, and that the respective sections 128, 130 may then bepressed together in order for the hook and material of each section tomate and adhere to one another. In this way, top flap 120 may besecurely attached to lower flap 122 when in its lower position L. Notethat the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may each also includemore than one hook and loop section 128, 130, and that the sections 128,130 may be configured in different positions, locations andconfigurations.

It should be noted and appreciated that other types and numbers ofattachment mechanisms 127 may also be used to attach upper flap 120 tolower flap 122 in a similar manner as described above. For example,upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 may be attached to one another usingone or more snaps, with at least one side of the snap (e.g. the maleside and/or female side) configured with the inner surface of upper flap120, and at least one of the other side of the snap (e.g. the femaleand/or male side) configured with the outer surface of the lower flap122. As with the example above regarding using hook and loop materialsections 128, 130 as the attachment mechanism, each side of the snap onthe upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 respectively may be configured togenerally come into physical contact and mate with one another when theupper flap 120 may be folded forward into lower position L and the snapsections are pressed together.

In another exemplary embodiment hereof, one or more magnets 129 may beused to attach upper flap 120 to lower flap 122 in a similar manner asdescribed above. For example, upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 may beattached to one another using one or more magnets 129, with at least onemagnet 129 configured with the inner surface of upper flap 120 (e.g.,sewn into a fold of the material), and at least one magnet 129configured with the outer surface of the lower flap 122 (e.g., sewn intoa fold of the material). As with the example above regarding using hookand loop material sections 128, 130 as the attachment mechanisms 127,each magnet 129 on the upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 respectivelymay be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate withone another when the upper flap 120 may be folded forward into lowerposition L and the snap sections are pressed together. Note that it maybe preferable that the magnetic poles of each magnet 129 be arrangedsuch that the magnets 129 may attract one another when in physicalcontact with one another as described. In this way, the magnets 129 mayadhere to or otherwise hold one another thus attaching the upper flap120 and the lower flap 122 together as desired.

Note that the descriptions above and the examples provided are meant fordemonstration purposes to benefit this description, and do not limit thecurrent invention in any way. In addition, those of ordinary skill inthe art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, thatother configurations of upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 may also beused and configured with other numbers and types of attachment members127. For example, other attachment mechanisms 127 may include one ormore latches, hooks, zippers, buttons, and other types or combinationsof types of attachment mechanisms 127. In addition, the attachmentmechanisms 127 may be configured in different positions and/or in othercombinations of positions as compared to the positions described in theexamples above or below. It is understood that the scope of the garment10 is not limited in any way by the type, types or combinations of typesof attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used.

It should also be noted that upper flap 120 may be folded downward alongother fold lines that may be different than fold line C in FIG. 1. Forexample, upper flap 120 may be folded downward along a fold line thatmay be generally parallel to the x-axis as depicted in FIG. 1. Ingeneral, it should be appreciated that upper flap 120 may be foldeddownward along any position or fold line that may be in any directionwith respect to the x-axis and y-axis of the figure.

As an alternative to the example depicted in FIG. 1, it can be seen thatthe left and right upper flaps 120 may be formed as upper extensions ofthe front 114 of the garment 10 instead of the back 116, and that theleft and right lower flaps 122 may be formed as upper extensions of theback 116 of the garment instead of the front 114. In this example, thetop flaps 120, being formed in the front 114 of the garment 10 may foldbackwards and downwards instead of forward and downwards as described inthe example above. The lower flaps 122 may reside on the back 116 of thegarments and may receive the top flaps 120 as they are folded backwardsand downwards. In addition, all or at least some of the characteristicsof upper and lower flaps 120, 122 described with respect to the otherexamples in this specification also apply to this example.

In yet another example, lower flaps 122 may extend upward such that theflaps 122 may be joined and attached to top flaps 120 towards the top ofleft and right upper shoulder portions 110, 112 without the need for topflaps 120 to be folded downward. In this example, top flaps 120 andlower flaps 122 may generally extend to the same height and attach toone another at the top.

Note that none of the examples described above or in any other sectionsof this specification limit the scope of the invention in any manner andthat other configurations, and combinations of configurations, of upperflap 120 and lower flap 122 with respect to the front 114 and back 116are also within the scope of the current invention. In general,

As shown in FIG. 1, with the left top flap 120 configured with the leftlower flap 122 as described, left side opening 132 may be formed. Leftside opening 132 may be generally formed by the top flap 120 and thelower flap 122 combination and may extend from outside the garment onthe left side of the upper left shoulder portion 110 to the inside 117of the garment 10. In this way, left side opening 132 may form theopening of the left sleeve 134. It may be preferable that left sideopening 132 be large enough to easily and comfortably accommodate thearm of the infant that may be placed into the garment 10.

Moving now to FIG. 2, the garment 10 with both the left and right upperflaps 120 configured with their respective lower flaps 122 is depicted.As shown, the left combination of left upper flap 120 and the left lowerflap 122 may form the left opening 132 and the left sleeve 134, and theright combination of the right upper flap 120 and the right lower flap122 may form the right opening 136 and right sleeve 138. Note that whileleft and right sleeves 134, 138 may appear to be short such that theymay not extend out far past the left and right sides of the garment 10,sleeves 134, 138 may be longer and may extend well past the left andright sides of the garment respectively. In this way, the sleeves 134,138 may be formed into what may referred to as “short sleeves” 134, 138(i.e. sleeves that may extend a few inches past the left and right sidesof the garment 10), “three quarter sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e. sleeves thatmay extend to just past the elbow region of a person's arm who may bewearing the garment 100, “long sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e. sleeves that maygenerally extend to the wrist region of the person's arm who may bewearing the garment), as well as other types of sleeves 134, 138.

It should be noted that sleeves 134, 138 may be of any length, shape,size or style, and may utilize the left and right upper flap 120/lowerflap 122 combinations accordingly. It may be preferable that versions oflonger sleeved garment 10 primarily include the upper and lower flaps120, 122 in the top left shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulderportion 112 of the garment 10. That is, the upper and lower flaps 120,122 may not necessarily extend the full length of the longer sleeves134, 138 but may instead be generally located in the shoulder regions110, 112 where the arms of the person wearing the garment 10 may be mostdifficult to manipulate into the sleeves 134, 138. In this case, theportion of the sleeves 134, 138 in the areas that may extend out beyondthe upper shoulder regions 110, 112 may generally include what may beviewed as typical sleeves (with an opening into the top of sleeve 134,138 just beyond the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 and a lower openingthat may coincide with the wrist region of the person's arm who may bewearing the garment 10). In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122may perform as described in this specification in the areas that may bemost difficult to manipulate the user's arm/shoulders into the garment10, and in the areas beyond this area, the person's arm may be moreeasily inserted into the outer areas of the sleeve through the topopening and out the lower opening. Note however that upper and lowertabs 120, 122 may indeed extend a portion or the entire length of thesleeves 134, 138 (of any length) as necessary.

In Operation

Turning to FIGS. 3-5, the use and general operation of the garment 10will now be described by detailed descriptions and by means of example.In this particular example, the garment 10 may include a onesie garmentgenerally used for babies or infants. However, it will be appreciatedthat this example is only meant for demonstration purposes and does notlimit the scope of the garment 10 in any way. It will also beappreciated that the garment 10 may include other types of garments suchas shirts, jumpers, one-piece suits, shirts attached to leggings, andother types of garments. It is also noted that the garment 10 may beused with any type of person including infants, toddlers, children,teenagers, young adults, adults, middle aged persons, senior citizens aswell as any other type of person.

As shown in FIG. 3, garment 10 may have a front 114, a back 116, anupper opening 106, a lower opening 108, an inside 117, upper flaps 120and lower flaps 122. Note that the lower flaps 122 may be foldeddownwards in this drawing but this may not be required. It should beappreciated that the upper opening 106 and the lower opening 108 maypass into the inside 117 such that the inner cavity 117 of the garment10 may pass continuously from the upper opening 106 to the lower opening108. In this way, the garment 10 may be placed on the body of a person(e.g. an infant 200 or any other type of person) and the portion of theinfant's body that is meant to be covered by the garment 10 (e.g. thetorso of the infant 200) may generally be configured within the inside117 of the garment 10. This is depicted in FIG. 4. Note that theinfant's left and right arms may be positioned generally above the lowerflaps 122 and generally below the upper flaps 120. In this way, the leftand right arms may be generally positioned in the area that will formleft side opening 132 and right side opening respectively.

It is important to note that the garment 10 may be placed on the infant200 (or other person) by placing the feet of the infant 200 through thetop opening 106 of the garment 10 and then pulling the garment 10 up andaround the baby's torso area as desired (for this particular type ofgarment). This may allow the avoidance of having to place the garment 10over the baby's head area which may be preferable in order to avoidhandling the baby's fragile neck, shoulders and head. However, giventhat the top and bottom openings 106, 108 may be large enough to easilyaccommodate the baby's head and shoulders, it may be safe to place thelower opening 108 over the baby's head and pull the garment 10 downwardover the torso of the baby 200 as desired.

Once the infant 200 is placed within garment 10 as depicted in FIG. 4,the lower tabs 122 may be folded upward in the direction of arrow D, andthe upper tabs 120 may be folded forward and downward in the directionof arrow A. In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may overlaythe baby's left and right shoulder and upper arm region as depicted inFIG. 5. The upper flaps 120 and the lower flaps 122 may be securedtogether utilizing attachment mechanisms 128, 130 (e.g. hook and loopmaterial sections or other attachment mechanisms) such that the left andright upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 combinations may form the leftand right sleeves 134, 138 respectively. Note also that the left andright upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 combinations may form the leftand right openings 132, 136 respectively that may form the inneropenings of the sleeves 134, 138. It may be preferable that the upperand lower flaps 120, 122 be configured in such a way that left and rightopenings 132, 136 and left and right sleeves 134, 138 be of a size andshape that may easily and comfortably receive and cover the baby's leftand right shoulder and upper arm regions.

It is important to note that at no time during the placement of thegarment 10 onto the baby's body was there a need to bend, twist, handleor otherwise manipulate the baby's left and right arms into the left andright sleeves 134, 138 since the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 wereconfigured around the baby's left and right arms to form the sleeves134, 138 without any movement required of the baby's arms. In this way,the delicate and fragile arms of the baby are safe from uncomfortableand potentially damaging manipulations into the sleeves 134, 138.

To remove the garment 10 from the person's body, the reverse proceduremay be followed. The upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may be disconnectedfrom one another in order to open up the top of the garment 10. Thegarment may then be easily removed, again, without having to bend, twistor otherwise manipulate the person's arms, shoulders or neck.

Note that in this example of a onesie that may be used with a baby orinfant, the garment 10 may also include a lower center front flap 140and a lower center rear flap 146 that may be configured to generallyclose the lower opening 108 of the garment 10 around the baby's leg andgroin areas. The lower center front flap 140 and lower center rear flap142 may each include attachment mechanisms 144 146 similar to theattachment mechanisms used in relation to upper and lower flaps 120, 122(e.g. hook and loop material) to be secured to one another.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the lower center front flap 140 may befolded downward and the lower center rear flap 142 may be folded forwardto be joined together in the area between the baby's left and rightlegs. In this way, the lower portion of the garment 10 may be generallyclosed such that the garment is secured to the baby's body. To open thebottom portion of the garment 10 in order to remove it from the baby'sbody, the lower center front flap 142 may be disconnected from the lowercenter rear flap 142 and the bottom opening 108 may be opened wide forthe removal of the baby.

It is understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that anyand/or all of the aspects of any of the above described embodiments maybe combined in any way, and that the system 10 is not limited in any wayby any combination of the aspects of any exemplary embodiments.

While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be apparent that various modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except asby the appended claims.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate and understand, uponreading this description, that embodiments hereof may provide differentand/or additional advantages, and that not all embodiments orimplementations need have all advantages.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand, that any methoddescribed above or below and/or claimed and described as a sequence ofsteps is not restrictive in the sense of the order of steps.

Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that the process may operate without any userintervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some humanintervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of ahuman).

As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some”means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., thephrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes thecase of only one ABC.

As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should beunderstood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes bothembodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore,dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe featureswith “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature isreferred to as “the” and “the at least one”.

As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So,for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. Inthe context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all ofthe conversation.

As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “usingat least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means“using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word“only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”

As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means“based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is notexclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based inpart on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unlessspecifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X”does not mean “based only on X.”

In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word“only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into thatphrase.

As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “atleast partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does notmean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y”means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not meanthat “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including inthe claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs fromY in at least some way.

It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, inthe description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and notto show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels(e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on)and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist inreadability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are notintended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial ornumerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as“particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description andclaims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended tobe otherwise limiting.

As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and“plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus,e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes“two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two ormore PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.”

The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values andranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. areused in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally,substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or“approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant”shall also cover exactly constant).

As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are tobe construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unlessthe context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”,“including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should beunderstood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are notintended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated.

It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of theinvention can be made while still falling within the scope of theinvention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similarpurpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unlessstated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosedrepresents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similarfeatures.

The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values andranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. areused in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally,substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall alsocover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactlyconstant).

Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “forexample” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustratethe invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of theinvention unless specifically so claimed.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention havebeen described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of thedescribed embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment comprising: a top opening with a frontand a back; at least one first flap configured with the back of the topopening; and at least one second flap configured with the front of thetop opening; wherein the at least one first flap and at the least onesecond flap are joined to form at least one sleeve of the garment. 2.The garment of claim 1, further comprising attachment mechanismsconfigured with the at least one first flap and the at least one secondflap.
 3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the attachment mechanisms jointhe at least one first flap to the at least one second flap.
 4. Thegarment of claim 3, wherein the attachment mechanisms are hook and loopmaterial.
 5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the type of garment ischosen from the group of types: a shirt, a onesie, a jumper and a onepiece suit.
 6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is placed onthe body of a person by placing the person's feet through the topopening of the garment.
 7. The garment of claim 6, wherein the person isan infant.
 8. A garment comprising: a top opening with a front and aback; at least one first flap configured with the back of the topopening and configured with at least one first attachment mechanism; andat least one second flap configured with the front of the top openingand configured with at least one second attachment mechanism; whereinthe at least one first attachment mechanism and the at least one secondattachment mechanism are joined to join the at least one first flap withthe at least one second flap; and wherein the joined at least one firstflap and at least one second flap form at least one sleeve of thegarment.
 9. The garment of claim 8, wherein the attachment mechanismsare hook and loop material.
 10. The garment of claim 8, wherein the typeof garment is chosen from the group of types: a shirt, a onesie, ajumper and a one piece suit.
 11. The garment of claim 8, wherein thegarment is placed on the body of a person by placing the person's feetthrough the top opening of the garment.
 12. The garment of claim 11,wherein the person is an infant.
 13. A garment comprising: a top openingwith a front and a back; at least one first flap configured with theback of the top opening and configured with at least one first sectionof hook and loop material; and at least one second flap configured withthe front of the top opening and configured with at least one secondsection of hook and loop material; wherein the at least one firstsection of hook and loop material and the at least one second section ofhook and loop material are joined to join the at least one first flapwith the at least one second flap; and wherein the joined at least onefirst flap and at least one second flap form at least one sleeve of thegarment.
 14. The garment of claim 13, wherein the type of garment ischosen from the group of types: a shirt, a onesie, a jumper and a onepiece suit.
 15. The garment of claim 13, wherein the garment is placedon the body of a person by placing the person's feet through the topopening of the garment.
 16. The garment of claim 15, wherein the personis an infant.